October 2, 2013

Oelwein Police Department has recently received reports of a scam that may be affecting our community. As always, the Oelwein Police Department strives to educate and make the citizenry aware of all current or trending scams. Like so many other scams this scam is centered around gaining access to your bank account and or having you, the victim, send money via Western Union. The current computer/virus scam will play out like the following: A person will call you advising that you have a virus on your computer and will tell you that he or she can prove it to you if you press certain keys on your computer key board. Pressing these keys allows the caller to take control of your computer and the caller then manipulates your computer remotely as proof that you have a certain virus. The caller will then offer you several different options, all with different prices, to fix the issue for you. If you receive a call of this nature just hang up on them and don’t press the keys on your computer they tell you to press. If you get to the point that you have already pressed the keys and no longer have control of your computer you can turn your computer off and then back on to regain control.

As always, never give out your personal information or banking or credit card information over the phone unless you know for certain that you are speaking with a reputable business or person. For more information on scams you can visit http://www.fraud.org/.

On October 1, 2013 at 9:45 a.m., Oelwein Officers encountered Aric James Quario, age 17 of Oelwein in the 1 block of 1st Avenue SE in Oelwein. Quario was cited for Possession of Tobacco Underage.